Articles on Fantasy and Literature
Reflection from the Battle of Helm's Deep in Tolkien's masterpiece: " The Lord of the Rings "
This article constitutes a first part of reflection on " The Lord of the Rings ".
He analyzes the passage relating the battle of Helm's Deep in the light of ancient mythologies, and identifies two layers in the writing of this fantastic epic: a pagan layer, around which the theme of royal succession is organized, and a Christian, who asserts the theological virtues, whose hope appears as the privileged virtue by Tolkien.
The crossing of Moria in " The Lord of the Rings " by Tolkien.
An example of catabase and anabase in the Fantastic.
As the Fellowship of the Ring has just formed and begins its long journey through hostile regions, it makes the decision to engage in Moria , this ancient mine belonging to the Dwarves.
This choice will force them to cross an underground region, home of demons, orcs and a Lord who reigns over these Hells, the Balrog . The symbolism chosen by Tolkien to describe this world and this trying crossing is not the result of chance, and is clarified thanks to the contribution of ancient mythologies.
The question of doubles in Tolkien's work.
The case of Gollum and the Ring.
No character more enigmatic and more disturbing in the work of Tolkien, by its strange familiarity, than that of Gollum. This arouses both repulsion and pity. As a character who accompanies another like his shadow, and of whom he is always the other negative, Gollum can only be understood through his doubles and the figure of doubles.
It is these figures that are approached in this reflection, which also questions the ultimate meaning of the Ring.
The Enigma of the Absence of Religion in Tolkien's Work.
If some commentators have noticed the total absence of religion in Tolkien's writings, they have generally attributed it to a choice of the author who would have liked to place it in a diffuse way in his work. But this explanation is hardly satisfactory, especially with regard to a writer as religious as Tolkien, and who has never made a secret of his Christian faith.
This article attempts to shed light on this mystery, which is also a little religious ...
Harry Potter or the disillusionment of magic.
The worldwide success of this fantastic saga should invite respect or at least force admiration.
But it is burdened with so many literary and intellectual faults that it takes an almost fanatical blindness to find in it virtues that, in my opinion, it does not have.
I quickly list in this article what separates me from the murky world of Potterian magic.